Wintry Weekend in January - Mt. Murayama & Shibuya Ekiden

I don't recall the weather being as chilly in Tokyo last winter. The end of January to mid-February are known to be the coldest days in Tokyo, which I can definitely attest to. But as Dr. Seus says, "On you will go though the weather may be foul...", we won't let it put a dent in our plans from exploring. Here is a compilation of photos of another eventful weekend beginning January 19.

Heavenly views of Mt. Murayama in Niigata Prefecture

Rodney has had much excitement on the slopes this winter. He's taking advantage of the prime snow conditions for honing his snowboarding skills by making side trips up north with some friends from Aoyama Honda Headquarters. Based on his photos, you can see that much of the views are spectacular.

A day trip to Mt. Murayama with some friends.

(L-R) Nagai-san, Yoko-san, Fujino-san, Travis and Rodney

Taking a break on the white blanket before heading down the slope

At the bottom of the hill, a crowd gathered around a group of men hard at work pounding down sticky rice to produce omochi (Japanese rice cakes). Making omochi is part of the New Year's traditions, though it is available to buy at any local supa throughout the year. Without the essential equipment such as a large wooden mortar, and wooden mallets, and a little elbow grease, it's virtually impossible to produce omochi the correct way.

Rodney taking a stab at omochi making

In the meantime, Markus and I stayed back in Tokyo. Aside from taking care of a few errands, and taking a trip to the bookstore, we chilled out at home. Sunday, the 20th was the day of the anticipated Shibuya Ekiden (relay race), so I wanted to be sure to get adequate rest the day before.

I left home very early the next morning to meet with my team members in Yoyogi Park for the event. All I could think of while riding to the station was how cold it was. I was surprised to see such a large turn-out of people. Yoyogi Park for one, is a huge park lined with many trees, bike paths and beaten tracks. For the relay race, 3.2 km of the area was blocked off with pile-ons and guarded by volunteers wearing orange coats so you could easily determine the running path. Moving through the crowd, I soon spotted the Nambanners grouped together stretching and trying to keep warm. We pinned our numbers and registered with the officials at the starters booth. The first runners lined up together (all divisions, both men and women). After the exciting shotgun start, you could hear the crowds cheering "Gambatte, gambatte!" I ran anchor position in my group, which meant that I had to wait for three other runners to pass off their sashes before my turn. It was a challenge enough to keep myself warm as I waited nervously. But once I got on the path, I felt good and soon started to feel my body warm up quickly. 3.2km seemed to go by quickly and I finished with a time of 15:07. Overall, the Namban Rengo team did fantastic as the men's masters and the women's A team placed first, as well as three other teams making it to the podium. All four ladies on my team had great runs. It was a very exciting and organized event. After the race, the Nambanners went to Raj Mahal Restaurant in Shibuya. I'm not very fond of spicy Indian food, however the food was delicious! Thanks to Juergen for organizing the luncheon and Mika for organizing the ladies' teams.

My team members (L-R): Yukari-san, Ayumi-san, Keiko-san and me.

Hanging out with Alice while waiting for our turn

1st Place Men's masters team receiving medals

Namban Rengo team

That Sunday evening, we finished the weekend off with Kenta Ebara's concert at Dress Tokyo in Akihabara. As I've mentioned before, Markus enjoys listening to Kenta's music so we thought we'd bring him along to the venue. He behaved very well as he listened and applauded just like the rest of the audience.

After the show with Kenta, Ryoko and Markus